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Chicken and Mustard Greens Soup

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
A rustic soup made with very few ingredients. Use bony parts of the chicken, the freshest mustard leaves and ginger, and the best quality fish sauce for best results.
Inspired by a recipe I saw on Andrea Nguyen's Viet World Kitchen which includes tofu but does not list ginger among the ingredients, I decided to add ginger because mustard greens in the Philippines are more bitter than their Vietnamese siblings and I wanted another strong flavor to balance the bitterness.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 to 5 chicken backs (necks will also work)
  • 2 shallots
  • 1 one-inch knob ginger
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil (coconut oil give this soup the best flavors)
  • fish sauce to taste
  • 1 big bunch mustard greens

Instructions
 

  • If using chicken backs, chop each into two to three pieces. Pat dry with paper towels.
  • Peel and thinly slice the shallots.
  • Peel and slice the ginger.
  • Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
  • Saute the shallots and ginger until softened and lightly browned, about five minutes over medium-low heat. Push to the sides of the pot.
  • Spread the chicken pieces on the bottom of the pot and turn up the heat to medium-high. Leave the chicken for a minute to allow the undersides to brown. Flip to brown the opposite sides.
  • Drizzle in two tablespoons of fish sauce. Continue cooking until the fish sauce has been absorbed by the chicken.
  • Pour in about six cups of water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and let the chicken simmer for 20 minutes or so.
  • While the chicken simmers, rinse the mustard greens and shake off excess water. Cut off the root ends and discard. If the leaves are rather large, cut them into halves.
  • Taste the broth and add more fish sauce, if needed.
  • Drop the mustard greens into the pot. Press them down into the broth to soften. Continue simmering the chicken with the mustard greens for another five to seven minutes.
  • Give the broth a final taste and stir in more fish sauce if still rather bland before serving the chicken and mustard greens soup.
Keyword Chicken Soup